Marketing Research

MKTG 440

Introduction

Agenda

Today’s topics

Marketing research
Course logistics
Brainstorm for team project

Please ask questions at any time

Marketing Research

What is marketing research?

Thoughts?

What is marketing research?

Marketing research is the process by which marketers gather intelligence in order to improve business decisions.
Marketing research is knowing what to measure, how to analyze those measurements, and finally how to communicate insights.
A class in 2 parts:
- Part 1: What and how to measure
- Part 2: How to analyze and communicate

Marketing research examples

What products and services do you regularly use?
What were some factors that influenced your decision to buy these products/services?

The scope of marketing research

Example marketing research questions

Related to marketing environment:
- How are changes in consumer sentiment (e.g., inflation, job security, etc.) shifting category demand?
- How does regulation (e.g., data privacy laws, sustainability-claim enforcement, etc.) affect our business?
- What macro trends (remote work, AI tools, subscription fatigue) are expanding or shrinking the market?
Related to marketing strategy:
- Which segment of customers should we target?
- What is our brand image (what is our brand’s position in our customer’s mind)?
Related to the marketing mix:
- In what media should we advertise our products?
- How should we price a new product?
- What kind of discounts should we offer, and to whom?

Course Info

Topics

Part I: What and How to Measure

MR process
Research designs
Scales and Measurement
Questionnaire Design
Sampling

Part II: How to Analyze and Communicate

Survey building in Qualtrics
Data analysis with R
Stats review
Hypothesis tests for differences and association
Data visualization

Weekly cadence

Monday meetings: new material
Wednesday meetings: new material, more practice
Sunday: assignments due by 11:59 PM

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Sun

Class

Class
Office Hours

Stuff due

Materials

D2L
- Organized into weekly “Modules”
- Slides posted after each class
- Look at D2L
Qualtrics (2nd half of the semester)
R and RStudio (2nd half of the semester)
No textbook
- I will provide additional readings for some topics

Grade allocation

Category	Type	% of Final Grade
Commitment		15%
↳ Individual assignments	Individual	↳ 10%
↳ Peer evaluations	Team	↳ 5%
↳ Thinking Forward conference	Individual	↳ 2% (bonus)
Exams		40%
↳ Exam 1	Individual	↳ 20%
↳ Exam 2	Individual	↳ 20%
Project		45%
↳ GA1: Research Proposal & Team Charter	Team	↳ 5%
↳ GA2: Qualitative Research	Team	↳ 7%
↳ GA3: Quantitative Research Proposal	Team	↳ 5%
↳ GA4: Qualtrics Survey	Team	↳ 3%
↳ GA5: Analysis Proposal	Team	↳ 7%
↳ GA6: Final Survey	Team	↳ 3%
↳ GA7: Final Analysis & Presentation	Team	↳ 15%
Total		102%

Commitment

Category	Type	% of Final Grade
Commitment		15%
↳ Individual assignments	Individual	↳ 10%
↳ Peer evaluations	Team	↳ 5%
↳ Thinking Forward conference	Individual	↳ 2% (bonus)

Individual assignments (ad hoc)
- Completion-based participation and practice exercises
- Some in-class, some asynchronous
Peer evaluations
Thinking Forward conference
- Required for all Marketing juniors
- Feb 20, 2026, 12:00-5:00 PM

Exams

Category	Type	% of Final Grade
Exams		40%
↳ Exam 1	Individual	↳ 20%
↳ Exam 2	Individual	↳ 20%

Taken in-class, pen & paper
Multiple-choice, short answer
Test your understanding of concepts and ability to apply them
Challenging, typically makes the difference between an A and B in this class
- But, will have review sessions, practice materials, cheat sheets allowed

Project

Category	Type	% of Final Grade
Project		45%
↳ GA1: Research Proposal & Team Charter	Team	↳ 5%
↳ GA2: Qualitative Research	Team	↳ 7%
↳ GA3: Quantitative Research Proposal	Team	↳ 5%
↳ GA4: Qualtrics Survey	Team	↳ 3%
↳ GA5: Analysis Proposal	Team	↳ 7%
↳ GA6: Final Survey	Team	↳ 3%
↳ GA7: Final Analysis & Presentation	Team	↳ 15%

Based on a research topic of your choosing
Team formation: pitch an idea to the class, join team based on shared interest
Group assignments guide progress toward final presentation

Expectations

Make sure you receive D2L Notifications
Show up to class, the two exams, Thinking Forward
- But, no need to let me know if you need to miss a class
Add these dates to your calendar:
- Exam 1: Feb 25
- Exam 2: Apr 22
- Thinking Forward: Feb 20
- Final presentations: May 4, May 6
Discuss and participate
Be a good teammate

Questions

Any questions?

About Me

Mini bio

Academic history
- Undergrad at University of Florida ’14 (math & econ)
- PhD at Duke University ’20 (econ)
- Marketing faculty at U of Delaware ’20-’23
- Marketing faculty at U of A ’24-
My research
- Pricing and demand for internet access, subscriptions and free trials, how media piracy affects media consumption, how ads affect attention
What I’m into

Intro survey

Your first assignment of the semester
Takes ~10 minutes
Helps me get to know your background, what you bring to the class, and what you hope to get out of it
Link on D2L

For Next Week

To do

Do
- Read the syllabus carefully
- Complete the intro survey (by Sunday night)
- Check D2L for reading material
Think
- About Team Project ideas
  - Identify an organization, cause, new product/service, candidate, etc. that matters deeply to you
  - Brainstorm problems or decisions you/they have to make
  - Consider pitching this idea to the class in two weeks

Individual reflection and brainstorm session

Identify a passion domain
- What is an industry, firm, campus organization, workplace, new idea, cause, political issue, etc. that you care about or find interesting?
Identify a challenge or decision within that domain
- What is a problem or decision that this domain faces, where a better understanding of the consumer might help?
- Examples:
  - ZonaZoo attendance (upperclassmen don’t attend football games? students leave basketball games after halftime?)
  - Reuse/recycling habits (how can we mitigate waste when students move in and out of student housing?)
Discuss your ideas with your neighbor(s)
Submit your answer to 1 and 2 at the link below